Homemade Herb Butter

Homemade herb butter is a savory, herbaceous, flavorful addition to rolls, bread, and even your favorite chicken breast recipe. Plus, it is so easy to make that you'll never go back to storebought again.

This Homemade Herb Butter is a delicious way to add fresh flavor to almost any dish. From rolls to potatoes and vegetables, you'll want to slather this creamy treat everywhere. I'll show you how to make 3 different flavor combinations in the post below.

Savory Herb Butter

With signs of spring everywhere, it’s hard not to think about beautiful flowers and fresh herbs and veggies (which is what inspired these herb butter recipes.)

Here in the northern US, we still have several weeks before we can do any planting. However, that hasn’t stopped me from getting a head start inside.

Every time I’m at the store, I skip to the back to check out what new plants have arrived. It’s always exciting to see the garden section fill up with greenery and pops of color.

Use Fresh Herbs

On a recent trip, I discovered herbs on the shelves. Inspired by the aroma of the fresh herbs, I picked up a few along with some potting soil. I already had a wreath form designed for planting, so I thought I could put together a wreath of herbs and then do some cooking with said herbs.

After filling my wreath form with soil, I popped in my herbs, and my living wreath was ready to go. I figured if I planted it now, it would have time to grow and fill in. Then, when the weather warms up, it will be ready to hang outside.

Look at me – planning ahead. I can hardly believe it.

With my wreath complete and plenty of herbs on hand, I was itching to get in the kitchen and whip something up.

In order to use as many herbs as possible, I decided to make a trio of homemade herb butters.

What is Herb Butter?

If you’ve never had herb butter, you are missing out. Herb butter (also known as compound butter) is made by simply combining butter and other ingredients used to enhance the flavor of dishes.

Typically, it’s flavored with herbs and garlic, but you can use sweet things such as honey, cinnamon, and sugar, too.

How to Make Herb Butter at Home:

Making your own herb butter is seriously so simple that you might be shocked. You really just mix fresh herbs with real butter. At the bottom of this post, I'll share 3 of my favorite herb butter recipes.

First, here is a list of the ingredients I used for all of them:

• Unsalted butter
• Fresh cilantro
• Garlic
• Fresh-squeezed lime juice
• Fresh basil
• Sundried tomatoes
• Fresh rosemary
• Fresh thyme
• Fresh chives
• Salt and pepper to taste

As you might have guessed, making herb butter is easy. All you do is mix together the butter and herbs, shape the mixture, and let it harden back up.

You can use whatever combination of herbs you like best. But to get you started, I came up with three recipes that I think you will love: Italian Garlic, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Cilantro Lime.

No matter your flavor of choice, you'll follow the same simple steps to make your own homemade butter.

First, in a bowl, mix all of the ingredients. You can do this with a hand mixer or by hand using a fork.

Once everything is nicely combined, transfer the butter to a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a cylinder. Then, twist both ends of the plastic wrap and pop cylinder in the refrigerator to chill.

The butter is ready when it's solid and cold.

That's it! I told you it was easy.

When you're ready to use the herb butter (especially when serving it on bread), pull it out of the refrigerator about half an hour or so ahead of time. Slice it immediately and set it out to warm up a bit. That way, it spreads nicely on the bread.

How to Use Herb Butter

How do you use herb butter? Well, the options are almost endless, but a few of my favorites include slathering it on steamed or grilled veggies, spreading it on corn on the cob, adding it to mashed potatoes, putting a dollop on a steak or shrimp, or even mixing it in pasta and veggies for a quick side dish.

In sum, you can use it any time you want to dress up a simple recipe that calls for butter. While all of the above ideas are great, I love it best served on fresh bread. For a real treat, spread it on a piece of warm and crusty baguette. The flavor of the herbs just comes alive and tastes so fresh.

The herb butter will last about five days in the refrigerator and up to a month in the freezer.

The herb butter is complete! Doesn’t it look yummy? Wait until you try it for yourself.

I've shared the detailed printable recipe below for the three homemade herb butter recipes that I made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some questions people often ask about homemade compound butter. If you don't see your question in this list, please leave it in the comments.

What is herb butter made of?

There are a ton of different ways to make herb butter. At its core, herb butter is basically fresh herbs and real butter mixed with some salt and pepper. It's a savory and flavorful butter that tastes amazing on bread, rolls or spread on top of a hot steak.

What gives you the best flavor of herb butter?

I'm a huge believer in using quality ingredients, especially in something like this compound butter. If we were simply baking with butter, I'd say you can definitely get away with the cheaper stuff. But as butter is the star of the show here, I'd encourage you to get the best quality butter you can afford.

Can you freeze herb butter?

Yes, herb butter is freezer-friendly. Wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer-safe food storage bag or container. The butter will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months.

That's a Wrap on Herb Butter!

Have you ever made herb butter (compound butter)? What are your favorite flavor combinations, and how do you like to use homemade herb butter? Let me know.

Homemade Herb Butter

This Homemade Herb Butter is a delicious way to add fresh flavor to almost any dish!

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Cilantro Lime Herb Butter

• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (minced)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Zest of a lime
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)

Sun-Dried Tomato Herb Butter

• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons oil-packed sundries-tomatoes (drained and chopped)
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil (minced)
• Black pepper (to taste)

Italian Garlic Herb Butter

• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary (minced)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme (minced)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh chives (minced)
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)

1. In a bowl, using a hand mixer (or by hand with a fork) beat together the butter and ingredients for your chosen flavored butter.
2. Transfer the butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Then roll up to form a cylinder. Twist both end tight and refrigerate for at least one hour. The butter is ready to serve when cold and solid.
3. Butter will last in the refrigerator for about five days.

One stick of butter will make one log of flavored butter. To make all three flavors listed in the recipe above, you'll need three sticks of butter.

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